March 5, 2014

Ads 'biggest mobile malware risk'

A report suggests adverts on mobile phones have now overtaken pornography as the biggest malware threat. The BBC reports.

Research by security company Blue Coat suggests web adverts have overtaken pornography as the most common way for users to encounter a malware threat.

...Adverts make up 12% of requested content but are responsible for nearly 20% of attacks.

The adverts are often displayed through "legitimate ad networks" but contain "malicious code" or direct users to "malicious sites".

The report states that the threat of malware from web ads has increased almost three times since it last looked at data relating to the trend in 2012.

Cisco's 2014 Annual Security Report noted that although mobile malware was "not a significant percentage" of web malware encounters "it is still worth noting because mobile malware is clearly an emerging area of exploration for malware developers".

It also found that when mobile malware is intended to compromise a device, it is nearly always targeted at Android devices.